Cold California Avocado, Sesame and Grilled Eggplant Soup

Ingredients

• 4 eggplants
• 10 cloves garlic
• ½ cup sesame oil
• ½ stick butter
• 2 fennel bulbs, diced
• 2 yellow bell peppers, diced
• 4 leeks, white part only
• 1 Spanish onion
• inch-long piece fresh ginger, peeled and diced
• ¼ cup lime juice
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 1½ quarts heavy cream
• 4 avocados, cut into pieces
• 10 cilantro sprigs
• 1 cup light whipping cream
• 1 cup mascarpone cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Garnishes

• avocado slices,
• seeded and diced tomato
• sesame seeds
• cilantro sprigs
• crumbled queso blanco cheese

Directions

1. Rub eggplants with oil.
2. Puncture and stud with garlic cloves.
3. Grill eggplants until cooked on all sides.
4. Split in half and scrape out seeds.
5. Reserve flesh and discard skin.
6. In a large saucepan, heat sesame oil and butter.
7. Add fennel, yellow peppers, leeks, onion and ginger.
8. Cook until vegetables are softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
9. Chop reserved eggplant and add it to the pan.
10. Adjust seasoning.
11. Add lime juice and soy sauce, stirring to loosen browned bits at the bottom of the pan.
12. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil.
13. Simmer 10 minutes.
14. Add avocado and cilantro, and roughly puree the soup in batches.
15. Whip cream and mascarpone cheese together until stiff.
16. Fold into soup.
17. Cool.
18. Adjust seasoning.
19. Spoon into bowls and garnish with avocado slices, chopped tomato, sesame seeds, cilantro and queso blanco.